Relatives of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster say claims government computers were used to post insulting messages about the tragedy are "deeply upsetting".

The Liverpool Echo newspaper claimed anonymous alterations to the Wikipedia page about the tragedy were made from IP addresses used by Whitehall departments.

The newspaper said revisions to the online encyclopaedia began five years ago on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and again in 2012.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said on Friday evening: "The amendments made to Wikipedia are sickening. The behaviour is in complete contravention of the Civil Service Code. It is entirely unacceptable.

"When the issue was brought to our attention by the Liverpool Echo we launched immediate enquiries.

"We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. Our first priority is to establish the facts and to examine the issues raised.

"Once we have the facts, we will update Parliament with the findings and consider further appropriate action.

"At this time, we have no reason to suspect that the Hillsborough edits involve any particular department, nor more than one or two individuals in 2009 and 2012.

"As the first incident happened five years ago and there are hundreds of thousands of people on the Government's network, it may prove challenging to identify who was involved."

The spokesman said the inquiries would be carried out by Cabinet Office permanent secretary Richard Heaton.

He promised to keep the Hillsborough Support Group, former Labour minister Andy Burnham and other "stakeholders" fully informed.

The Echo said that among the IP addresses from which the amendments were made were computers located in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Treasury and the Office of the Solicitor General.

Ninety-six Liverpool fans were killed and another 766 people injured on overcrowded terracing at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield at an FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989.

Among the reported amendments to the Hillsborough Wikipedia page was an insertion saying: "Blame Liverpool fans" - deeply upsetting to victims' families who have been campaigning for more than 20 years to establish the truth behind the tragedy.

Margaret Aspinall, from the Hillsborough Family Support Group, told the Echo: "I hear something like that and it upsets me a great deal, it makes me incredibly sad.

"I'm glad somebody has found out about it but I'm frightened to be honest that we haven't known until now."

Many relatives refused to accept that the fans' deaths were accidental and accused police of covering up exactly what happened.

In 2012, the High Court quashed the original coroner's verdicts and called for fresh inquests to be held due to new evidence.